Talk:1887: Two Down, One to Go

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Worth noting that the Orionids are the last major shower of the year: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/orionid.html 108.162.246.215 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Venus is sometimes visible during the day. A daylight supernova need not be the second brightest object in the night sky.162.158.62.159 13:30, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

The Moon is also sometimes visible during the day. SN 1006 and SN 1054 were brighter than Venus at maximum brightness but still dimmer than the Moon. --Dgbrt (talk) 14:02, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Randall is likely talking about the expected replenishment of the Leonids http://www.imo.net/50-years-ago-the-1966-leonid-meteor-storm/ 172.68.65.18 14:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Aurora viewing in "perhaps parts of Maine"? Maine's northern limit is ~47.5 degrees. Most of the US/Canada border is at 49 degrees, which is still too far south for good aurora views, but being in Seattle gets you closer to the pole than Maine. 108.162.216.160 18:59, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Auroras are centered on the Earth's geomagnetic poles, not the geographic poles. The geomagnetic pole is currently on Ellesmere Island and is closer to Portland, ME than Seattle, WA. The closest spot in the contiguous US to the geomagnetic north pole might be in northern Maine, Isle Royale, MI or the Northwest angle, depending on exactly which epoch is used for the location of the pole.162.158.62.159 00:22, 9 September 2017 (UTC)

Could Randal's mention of a supernova be interpreted to mean that our sun goes supernova and since that's the last thing he sees, he jsut closes off his bucket list? 108.162.221.58 22:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Nice idea, and fits with Randall's sense of humor, but he knows that while it is possible that a nearby star will go supernova in his lifetime (though unlikely) our sun will never go supernova because it is too small. And the odds of our sun going nova anytime soon are meaningfully zero (on the same order of magnitude of the odds that every atom that makes up the clothing you are wearing suddenly quantum tunneling two feet to your left). 162.158.78.124 14:54, 9 September 2017 (UTC)

I always have to share my favorite song about Romance and Science: Judith Edelman: Magnetic. Read the lyrics at one of the first comments, "...Will the aurora borealis give us one last show?". --Dgbrt (talk) 20:31, 9 September 2017 (UTC)

Total Solar Eclipse: (16 times) check, Aurora (both northern and southern) check, Meteor Storm (1966) check, Naked eye visible supernova (SN 1987A) check, Transit of Venus: (2004 & 2012) check, Comet impact into a planet (Jupiter) check, Volcanic eruption (Mt. St. Helens, Kilauea, Mt. Erebus, etc.) check, Tsunami (Marshall Islands) check, Major Earthquake (Turkey, China, US) check, Hurricane (US, Virgin Islands, etc.) check, Tornado (several close up on the state of NM) check, Earth Poles, (North Geographic Pole, South Geographic Pole. North Magnetic, South Magnetic) check, World records (1980 and 1990 record book) check, .. still hoping to go into outer space, still hoping to see a naked eye Supernova in our galaxy, plus and a few other cool things: nevertheless, I'm well satisfied with my life so far. Chongo (talk) 09:08, 10 September 2017 (UTC)

FYI: There was no total solar eclipse in 2014, 2011, 2007, 2005, 2004, ... Chongo (talk) 09:26, 10 September 2017 (UTC)

I'm not the only one who can see 'Wave of Hurricanes' right? 108.162.238.83 12:27, 11 September 2017 (UTC)

Someone changed the image on this site. xkcd.com still shows the original with "Meteor Storm". If I knew how to fix this, I would. 108.162.238.95
It's corrected back to the original. But you must be patient to see it until the cache on the website is expired.--Dgbrt (talk) 14:23, 11 September 2017 (UTC)--Dgbrt (talk) 14:23, 11 September 2017 (UTC)
Someone has broken it again 172.68.65.18 15:53, 11 September 2017 (UTC)
No, and the cache on the server has expired. Press F5 and you will see the correct picture. --Dgbrt (talk) 19:59, 11 September 2017 (UTC)

There was a meteor storm back in 2014 that peaked at over 100,000 meteors per hour. It's a shame we were on the wrong planet. 108.162.210.106 21:44, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

https://www.cnet.com/news/supernova-iptf13dqy-spotted-hours-after-star-explosion-nature-physics/172.69.62.184 01:44, 1 June 2018 (UTC)

Spam by X. K. C. D.? 172.70.131.106 22:53, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

The reason why I added "[actual citation needed]" to the figure: Remember that it is currently not unproven that light could travel instantaneously in one direction and half as fast in the other direction. The speed of light is in actuality just an average between the two outliers in speed. I also said this (exactly, word for word) in my edit summary. SilverTheTerribleMathematician (talk) 02:33, 22 December 2022 (UTC)


This happened again in 2024! 162.158.62.236 14:17, 3 June 2024 (UTC)